Microsoft has announced that support for Windows 8 will be discontinued after the patches that rolled out today (January 12).

Usually, Microsoft will support their OSes for 10 years but that's not the case with Windows 8.

If you're still running Windows 8, it's time to update to Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 or risk exposing your PC to unpatched security risks.

The reason for this odd state of affairs is that Microsoft is treating Windows 8.1 as a service pack to Windows 8. The rules allow you to hold off on installing that service pack, but only for two years.

The good news is that upgrading to Windows 8.1 pushes the deadline out significantly. Windows 8.1 reaches the end of its Extended Support phase on January 10, 2023, and there won't be any additional service packs to complicate that deadline.

Upgrading to Windows 10 extends the lifecycle even further, to October 14, 2025.

Most of the devices still running Windows 8 are consumer PCs, purchased by technically unsophisticated users who've never been to the Windows Store and ignored any prompts they might have seen to upgrade. Starting next week, they're living very dangerously indeed.